chapter 26
26 – Form Conversion Gauntlet Plasma Lightsaber
While going up the podium after being called by the instructor, I was conscious of the opponent walking alongside me.
The opponent for the second match, the strongest cadet in the academy.
I mean the witch Isabella.
‘I can’t beat her in a normal way.’
Isabella.
Unfortunately I have no way to beat her.
Her mental magic has a wide range and can kill multiple monsters at once, while my plasma bullet, which mimics a repulsor beam, can only kill one enemy with one attack.
In other words, it is not an opponent at all in the attack range.
‘I wasn’t just sucking my fingers though.’
However, I was well aware of my weaknesses.
And how to supplement this was a topic that I had been thinking about for a long time.
So I started researching to make up for that shortcoming.
Not just shooting plasma bullets, but also researching ways to increase firepower by implementing them in the form of a lightsaber.
And as a result, dramatically, I was able to finish my research just last night.
A plasma lightsaber was implemented through a new technique.
As I put my hand on the teleport magic ball while thinking about the plasma lightsaber, my body immediately moved to the test site and the instructor who was waiting at the site greeted me.
In response, I responded to the instructor’s greeting as a courtesy, but Isabella just ignored it and skipped it.
However, as if he had already expected this much, the instructor didn’t pay much attention to it and informed him of the precautions.
“Okay then, be careful. I will start the game after counting three seconds.”
After such a tedious explanation, the instructor finally raised the gun to fire the starting round.
I warmed up the mana on the soles of my feet and prepared to hit it right away.
As there is a time limit, you have to go fast.
“Countdown to start exam, 3… 2… 1…”
bang!
I and Isabella’s body rushed into the battlefield with a thunderclap.
Isabella lifted herself into the air with the Graham family’s signature flight technique, and I took out my gauntlet from my inventory.
With 20 minutes remaining, the countdown began to determine whether Isabella and I won or lost.
***
When hundreds of people gather, noise is inevitable.
In particular, the cadets who had previously played the second game had no choice but to soothe the afterglow by gathering with like-minded friends and having fun, as the lingering afterglow of the match, whether they were losers or winners, remained.
-Ha, I miscalculated the formula. If it worked properly, I would have won.
– Will I be the only one? Because I was nervous, I couldn’t even convert mana properly. hahahaha, that was a real piece of crap.
-Still, I think my grades are better than I thought? I thought I would lose by sticking with the Aisen family.
– You’ve been so fucking lucky.
The cadets are pouring out various stories depending on their position.
However, if you follow the flow of the conversation, most of the forms are in line.
The winner pretended to comfort the loser, inserting their performance, and the loser comforted the pain of defeat by making a suitable excuse.
“The next match is Edgar Fix vs. Isabella. Come up to the podium and put your hand on the teleport magic orb.”
But the moment Ed and Isabella’s names are called.
Silence fell in the auditorium as if it had been promised.
Just as the noise stops all at once when the commercials in a movie theater end and the main movie starts, everyone gathered their eyes on the screen to watch Ed and Isabella’s confrontation purely.
Just like that, it was time for Ed and Isabella to rush to the battlefield.
“Poem, it has begun!”
Ed’s screen split on the left side of the screen.
A crack formed in the screen and a bracelet began to appear.
Ed took out the gauntlet from his inventory.
Everyone stared at Ed’s screen, tense enough to hear his heartbeat.
Because I want to feel the shock of Ed wearing the gauntlet once again.
[Charrr. clap. Clap.]
The process by which the individual alloys mesh together to form a gauntlet.
It was a strangely heart-pounding scene.
Since they were cadets from another world who had not yet encountered mecha, there was no way to know why their hearts were beating so fast just to wear a gauntlet.
[Key—eeeing!]
Before long, the ‘sound’ of courtesy began to ring.
Pleasant high-frequency sound produced when preheating a plasma beam.
The round circle on the palm of the gauntlet emitted a bright light and gradually increased in size.
Eventually, as everyone’s tension increased, a heavy gong sound resonated throughout the auditorium.
A sufficiently preheated plasma bullet was fired in the form of a white flash.
-Puong!
and momentarily
An ultra-high-temperature plasma bullet fired at the speed of sound pierced the monster’s abdomen.
Then, the huge body of the monster with its vital points ruptured collapsed to the floor.
-Ha, in one shot…
-crazy. dog is cool
– I also want to wear it just once.
Ed’s gauntlet that madly arouses the desire to own it.
Would he really be able to win the favor of the princess and the head professor if he made something like that?
How much stronger would Ed be if he continued to create armaments like that?
As the thought reached that point, some cadets trembled with chills, and some cadets burned their fighting spirit and their eyes lit up.
– Hey, look over there! Isabella!
However, not to be outdone by this, Isabella also began to move in earnest.
Her model, which soared up in the sky, went to the middle of the area where monsters were concentrated, and cast mental magic over a wide area.
[Quoooooooo!!!]
Then the monsters started screaming and rampaging.
They started fighting each other by stabbing, cutting, and biting each other.
-As expected, isn’t it bad for Isabella?
-No matter how much Sir Pix is, Isabella the Witch is difficult.
– Can’t beat that. just no answer
Overwhelmed.
It was truly the scene of an overwhelming massacre.
Ed’s fight scene made me feel a kind of ‘pong’, while Isabella’s fight scene left me speechless.
There was only a sense of defeat that seemed like he couldn’t win no matter what.
– But, what is Sir Pix doing? You don’t seem to catch monsters properly?
-Yeah? Even if you work hard like crazy from now on, where are you going?
In the meantime, Ed’s move makes everyone wonder.
Ed wasn’t dealing with the monster properly.
He only kills the monsters blocking his path.
Even wearing such a powerful gauntlet, there was no particular battle.
-What, did you give up?
– Already the difference in points is ridiculous?
-No, you must have already figured out all the densely populated areas, right? Why are you skipping those areas?
It was strange.
It was strange.
In order to get a lot of points, it was common for the mole to hunt.
To do so, you had to go to an area where monsters were concentrated, and it was common to create a strategic route to efficiently travel around such an area.
But Ed was doing the exact opposite.
Crossing only the place where there are no monsters, he is running furiously somewhere.
-ah! Are you crazy?
at that time.
A cadet who realized Ed’s intention let out a scream-like exclamation.
And at the same time, Ed stopped in front of a dark cave reminiscent of an abyss.
At this, the instructor, who was observing Ed and Isabella while chewing on snacks without much thought, screamed in surprise.
[Hey! no way! isn’t it? Yay, crazy!]
Taat!
The instructor quickly rushed towards Ed.
But either way or not.
Ed aimed the gauntlet at the cave and loaded the plasma bullet.
And then-
[Key—eeeing! Pew!]
Without hesitation, he fired a plasma bullet into the cave.
White flashes flooded the cave in real time.
Whoops!
The sound of an explosion strong enough to resonate throughout the cave.
The instructor, who was watching this through the magic ball, muttered in a low voice with a rotten expression.
[Wow—I’ll turn. I applied here to suck honey.]
oh oh oh oh oh oh!
Soon, as if he had been waiting, the loud roar of the monster resounded.
thud! thud! thud! thud!
Something so huge that the ground shook began to come out.
Then, the cadets in the auditorium who were watching this slowly opened their mouths and muttered with bewildered faces.
– No, are you crazy…?
-···You didn’t hear the caution, did you?
– No, are you really going to catch that?
Why are the cadets so shocked?
The first reason is that the instructor gave a warning before starting the test.
The boss monster in the cave is hard to catch even yourself, so if you don’t want to be the first applicant for a new suicide method, never enter the cave.
[under-. I will turn around.]
And the second reason.
It was because the instructor warned me about the boss monster in the cave and joked that if I caught it, I would pass the test right away.
But I never dreamed that there would be a madman who really believes in it and tries to implement it.
[Key—eeeing!]
But Ed wasn’t crazy.
I think it’s worth trying, so I’m going to try.
So Ed glared at the cave with serious eyes and fully loaded the plasma beam.
Eventually, when the Minotaur King appeared—
[Puuong!]
The plasma beam was fired as it was.
A white flash hit the Minotaur King’s left ankle.
[Quoooooooo!!!]
A minor blow that ended with a momentary staggering.
As the Minotaur King had overwhelmingly more mana receptors than humans, it was impossible to hurt him with moderate attacks.
Rather, it only stimulated the anger of the Minotaur King more.
[Huh!]
Because of this, the counterattack began immediately.
His huge fist pierced Ed, creating tremendous wind pressure.
[Whoops!]
Fortunately, Ed was able to dodge the guy’s attack by a narrow car.
As much as the Minotaur King’s mana receptor is terrible, Ed, who has a huge mana stone embedded in his chest, also has three times more mana than a normal cadet.
Through this, Ed was able to move his body agilely enough to barely avoid Minotaur King’s attack.
[Key—eeeing!]
That’s how Ed started to hit and run.
Keep avoiding his attack and shoot plasma bullets focusing only on your left ankle.
[Cheuk!]
However, not all attacks could be avoided.
I was greedy to focus more on the attack, but my body was slightly brushed by his fingertips.
[Heuk…]
But just with that alone, my body flew far away.
In the first place, it was an overwhelming power difference that could never be caught with the level of a cadet who had just entered.
[Whoa…]
Still, Ed did not give up.
After quickly getting up and breathing, he calmly held out his palm to the Minotaur King, who was charging towards him.
Key – eeeing! After loading the plasma bullet, I fired it at the guy’s left ankle.
Kwaaang!
A flash of white light flashed at his ankle, followed by an explosion.
The Minotaur King, who had been charging without hesitation, stumbled for a while before collapsing on the floor.
Ed muttered, raising the corners of his mouth.
[Finally, stage 1 is complete.]
Ed succeeded in sealing the guy’s movements by focusing on one spot he had been persistent in.
But that didn’t mean it was easily accessible.
This is because there is absolutely no answer to close combat against the Minotaur.
[Then the next step.]
So, Ed decided to take a surprise attack.
It was to deliver a one-hit kill from the guy’s blind spot.
[Pajijijik!]
To do that, another item was needed.
A prototype of the propellant that almost sent him to the goal last night.
Ed took it out of his inventory and spread his arms out.
It was remodeled to make it easier to install, so the propellant started to be installed on its own just by extending your arms.
Clap, clack, tsar ruk… A pleasant combination sounded, and the smooth backpack-shaped propellant was fixed on Ed’s back.
[Ed! Edgar Fix! stop! Stop right now!]
At that time, the instructor who was galloping towards Ed in Burinake arrived just in time.
Huh-huh-He gasped, glanced at the Minotaur King, who was hesitant on one knee, and spoke angrily to Ed.
[Hey, Pix Cadet. Are you out of your mind? It’s not too late now, so run away now. The resilience of the Minotaur King is beyond imagination. Even if it’s like that now, I’ll follow you again in less than two minutes.]
As he said, the resilience of the Minotaur King is beyond imagination.
Even if you hit more than 8 high-temperature plasma bullets, you can recover them all in just 2 minutes.
But Ed thought differently.
[So. There are only two minutes left, so I have to kill it within that time.]
[what-]
Fuhuaaa!!
Before the instructor could finish talking, fire came out of the propellant.
Ed’s body soared into the sky in an instant, flying 300 meters in the sky.
[····? Woo woo woo woo!]
Seeing how fast that speed was, even the video transmission magic sphere that had been chasing Ed was able to find Ed’s location after wandering for a long time.
Eventually, when the video transmission magic sphere was placed in the sky above Ed, the scene of Ed’s gauntlet transforming once again began to be captured in the sphere.
The cadets gathered in the auditorium clearly witnessed the whole process.
[Clap. clap. Charlereureu… Geeeing… Clap.]
Everyone was silent.
I watched the process of the titanium alloy being disassembled and reassembled in detail as the bright circular light from the palm moved to the back of the hand.
When the transformation was finished, the gauntlets were transformed into wrist protectors reminiscent of the Protoss Zealots.
Eventually, the blue round magic stone attached to the center of the wrist protector emits a brilliant light, and that sound of yes, key—yeeeing! and started emitting a ringing warm-up sound.
Every time the high-frequency sound emitted intensely, everyone’s tension increased.
[Pajijijijik—!]
And finally, the form-transformable wrist guards that had been activated spewed out a sad blue lightsaber.
Then, Ed, who was free-falling through the sky, saw a plasma lightsaber that was unexpectedly emitting light, and began to adjust his position by turning the propellant off and on.
[…about this.]
Ed was placed on top of the Minotaur King’s head.
Ed turned off the propellant’s engine at 20m in the air.
At the same time that the Minotaur King got up, Ed’s body began to fall to the ground.